2001 BMW M5: MOT pass rate and reliability
85.1% of 2001 BMW M5s pass the MOT first time, measured across 248 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 120,214 miles.
How the 2001 compares
- Against all BMW M5s (89.3%, 3,915 tests): -4.2 points
- Against all 2001 cars (66.2%): +18.9 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every BMW M5 model year
Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2001 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the BMW M5:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 83.4% | 223 | 124,010 |
| 2001 | 85.1% | 248 | 120,214 |
| 2005 | 88.7% | 231 | 93,655 |
| 2006 | 86.4% | 242 | 84,759 |
| 2007 | 92.4% | 237 | 86,282 |
| 2012 | 92.3% | 286 | 72,592 |
| 2013 | 88.5% | 478 | 68,469 |
| 2014 | 90.7% | 440 | 62,020 |
| 2015 | 89.2% | 369 | 60,767 |
| 2016 | 90.6% | 394 | 52,744 |
What this means if you are buying a 2001 M5
The 2001 is a weaker year for this model, passing 4.2 points less often than the BMW M5 average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2001 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.
What a 25-year-old car fails on
A 2001 car is 25 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:
- Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
- Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
- Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
- Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
- Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
- Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested
That is high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2001 BMW M5 the average at test was 120,214 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.
The strongest year for this model is 2007 at 92.4%, and the weakest in our data is 2000 at 83.4%. That 9.0 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2001 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2000 BMW M5 - 83.4%
- 2005 BMW M5 - 88.7%
- 2006 BMW M5 - 86.4%
- 2007 BMW M5 - 92.4%